Clip



oct. 9, 1962 AL FINK 3,057,366

CLIP

Filed Feb. 14, 1961 W5C@ 4K6@ United States Patent O 3,ll57,366 CLIP AlFinir, Drexel Hill, Pa. Fiied Feb. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 89,196 1 Claim.(Cl. 132-48) This invention relates to a clip useful in retaining hairin place, especially in coiled, curled, looped, or waved conguration.

Many types of hair clips, some being called pin cur clips, are known.Their utility is limited by their propensity for becoming entangled withthe hair, as with a curl being clipped `or unclipped, whetherfree-formed or wrapped about an auxiliary curlforming article, or withadjacent hair not included in such curl.

A primary object of the present invention is provision of a hair clipconstructed to eliminate the risk of entanglement with a curl retainedthereby or with adjacent hair.

An object is provision of a hair clip readily clipped on and unclippedfrom a curl, whether free-formed or wrapped about an auxiliarycurl-forming article.

A particular object is construction of a hair clip adapted to receivetherein, for substantially the entire clip length, an article to beclipped thereby.

A further object is novel cooperation of a hair clip and a hair-curlingcylinder or roller, whereby the clip does not protrude appreciably whenin place thereon.

Other objects of the present invention, together with ways and means ofattaining the various objects, will be apparent from the following-description and the accompanying diagrams.

FIG. l is an exploded perspective view of a hair clip of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same clip in closed position, with theopen position thereof shown fragmentarily in broken lines;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation showing, in closed position, the grip end ofthe clip of the preceding views;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the clip, shown partly in broken lines, inplace on a hair cylinder or roller;

FIG. 5 is a top plan of the clip in place on a freeformed flat curl;

FIG. 6 is a rear sectional elevation of a modified pivot constructionfor a hair clip o-f this invention; and

FIG. 7 is a rear sectional elevation of a further modilied pivotconstruction `for such a clip.

In general, the `objects of the present invention are accomplished bymeans of a generally J-shaped striplike member, a second striplikemember adjacent the body of the J-shaped member on the side thereoftoward which the J hooks and adjacent the surface of the terminalportion `of the J hook, and pivot means pivotally interconnecting thetwo members at the terminus of the J hook. The invention contemplatesuse of such a clip having a normally closed end adapted to be opened andto straddle the wall of an open-ended cylinder and close thereon, withthe pivot of the clip being located within the cylinder when the clip isin place thereon.

FIG. l shows, in isometric perspective and exploded, a hair clip of thisinvention composed of four parts: upper striplike member `12, lowerstriplike member 14, pivot pin 13, and coil spring 15. Member 12 hasgenerally bifurcated clip end 21, bridged by connecting strip 22, andgrip end 25 joined to the clip end by integral intermediate piece 23.This intermediate piece slants at an angle to join the respective endportions, which are nearly but not quite parallel to one another, thegrip end being located at a higher level and slanting slightly upwardfrom the clip end. The overall configuration of upper member 12 is,therefore, somewhat `ogee-like, though adof hair 42.

ICC

tmittedly more angular than curved at the junctions of the respectiveends to the intermediate piece. Depending from the sides of the uppermember at about the junction of grip end 25 with intermediate piece 23are pair of ear-like flanges 24 (only one being visible in this view)with apertures 26l (one each) therein to receive pivot pin 13.

Lower member 14, as is apparent in FIG. l, has cornpletely bifurcatedclip end 31. This member is upturned or backcu-rved at grip end 35, andhas pair of earlike flanges 34 rising from opposite sides at terminus 39of upper flat portion 37 thereof. Each ear-like flange has aperture 36therein to receive the pivot pin. The overall configuration of lowermember 14 is, therefore, generally J-shaped, especially when viewed fromthe side or in transverse section (i.e., sectioned parallel to andbetween the side edges). Pivot pin 13 is adapted to fit through the coilof spring 15, whose termini 17, 18 protrude upward and downward,respectively, toward the rear or grip ends of the respective `striplikemembers. The broken lines indicate the general orientation of the springtermini when retained between the two members by the pin, as insubsequent views.

FIG. 2 shows, in side elevation, clip 11 assembled, upper and lowermembers 12 and 14 being retained by pivot pin 13 with their respectiveclip ends 21, 31 biased together (i.e., in the closed position) byspring 15. Upper terminus 17 of the `spring presses upward against theunderside of grip end 25 of the upper striplike member, and lowerterminus 1S of the spring presses downward against the top surface ofupper at portion 37 of the backcurved grip end of lower striplike memberI14. Depending ear-like flanges 24 of the upper member overlapupstanding ear-like flanges 34 of the lower member, and -pin 13 throughthe apertures in the respective anges is flattened out at pin ends 13(one visible here) against the outer surface `of the depending flanges.

FIG. 2 also indicates, in broken lines, the open configuration of clip11, in which lower member 14 remains unchanged in position while gripend 25 of the upper member is rotated down against upper at portion 37of grip end 35 of the lower member. Such lrotation to the open positionpresses upper terminus 17 of the spring downward and, of course, raisesclip end 21 of the upper member against the correspondingly increasedbiasing force of the spring. The clip ends of the respective members areoriented at a slight angle to `one another in their closed position,touching only at their bifurcated termini, so that when only `slightlyseparated, as to receive a curl of hair therebetween, they are parallelor more nearly SO.

FIG. 3 shows, in rear elevation (i.e., facing the grip end `of theclip), clip 11 somewhat enlarged over the preceding views. Spring 15 isvisible, coiled about pivot pin 13 between the earlike flanges atopposite `side edges of the respective clip members. The respectivetermini of the spring appear more or less end-on, as 4they extend towardthe rear or grip end of the clip. Upper or right terminus 17, whichpresses against the underside of grip end 25 of the upper member, slantsslightly upward toward the rear in this closed position. The overlappingof upstanding earlike flanges 34 of the lower member by correspondingdepending flanges 24 of the upper member is also clearly visible, as isthe enlargement of ends 13' of pivot pin 13 exterior of the outerflanges.

FIG. 4 shows, in side elevation, clip 11 assembled to hair cylinder orroller 41 about which is wrapped coil The upper surface of lower member14 of the clip is in contact with the exterior of the hair coil fromabout the bifurcated terminus of the clip end to about the `curvedinterior surface `of the grip end thereof, as the parallel lower surfaceof bifurcated clip end 31 of upper member 12 is contiguous with theinner surface 3 of the cylinder wall. Grip end 25 of the upper memberand upper flat portion 37 of the backcurved grip end of the lowermember, together with the ears and pivot pin, also are located withinthe cylinder interior and are indicated in broken lines.

FIG. 5 shows, in plan, clip 11 closed on flat free-formed curl of hair43, which is visible to the sides and between the bifurcations thereof,with cross piece 23 superimposed on the relatively open center of thegenerally spiral curl of hair. 1t is apparent that the axis about whichthis curl is formed is oriented perpendicular to both the clip itselfand the axis of the cylinder and adjacent coil of hair shown in thepreceding view.

Operation of the illustrated and described hair clip of this inventionis readily understood. Pressure of thumb and forenger against the uppersurface of grip end 2S of the upper member and against the underside ofgrip end 35 of `the lower member is effective to open the clip, i.e., toforce the respective clip ends apart from one another against the biasprovided -by the spring, as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 2. Whenthe clip is so opened it can receive a coil, curl, loop, or wave of hairor the wall of a hair cylinder between the clip ends of the respectivemembers; in fact, as previously indicated, the only limit upon the depthof insertion into the clip is the curved inner surface of the grip endof the lower member. Release of the manual pressure compressing the gripends of the members toward one another permits the clip ends to closeand -to retain therebetween such hair or other article as may have beeninserted in the clip. Removal of the clip is simplicity itself, as thegrip ends are comp-ressed to open the clip ends.

This clip is extremely unlikely to become tangled in hair being retainedthereby or in adjacent hair. The fulcrum of the clip is out of the lineof travel of hair or a hair cylinder inserted in the clip. The lowerclip member, which is more likely than the upper member to slide againstthe hair during insertion or removal, is bifurcated and free of anycross piece all the way from the terminus at the clip end thereof topast the fulcrum location at the grip end. The extremity of the grip endof the clip is provided by the back-curved grip end of the lower member,which slides readily over any adjacent hair, especially during removalwhen entanglement therewith is otherwise likely. When in place on a haircylinder, this clip hardly protrudes at all, the only protruding portionbeing the same backcurved grip end of the lower member.

This clip requires no unusual materials of construction, and the upperand lower members thereof may be made of steel or other suitable metal,plastic, ceramic or other material, as may the pivot arm. The springcomposition preferably is a good quality of spring steel. The variousparts may be Chromed or otherwise plated, enameled, or painted as may bedesired in the interest of appearance and to avoid possibility ofreaction with materials applied to or present on the hair of the user.The actual construction may be varied somewhat without representing adeparture from the inventive concept, as by changing the dimensions,outline, or the means fastening the respective clip members together.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show, in rear sectional elevation, modifications of theclip of this invention operable without any pivo-t pin and sectionedthrough the fulcrum location. Each employs spring 5S, which differssomewhat from spring of the preceding views; the respective clip membersthemselves are different from one another in each of the .modificationsand modified from members 12 and 14 of the previous embodiment. Therespective coils or turns of spring 5S are spaced apart from oneanother, thereby enabling the spring to be compressed longitudinally forinsertion at the fulcrum of the modified clips.

FIG. 6 shows upper member 62 and lower member 64 retained pivotally byincurved upstanding earlike flanges 65 of the lower member and similarlyincurved overlapping depending flanges 63 of the upper member. Theoverlapped upstanding flanges are somewhat longer, being at a greaterradius from the center of curvature than the overlapping dependingflanges. The open opposite ends of spring 55 receive the innermost(between the sides of the clip) curved portions of the upstandingflanges of the lower member, thereby retaining it in position in theabsence of any pivot pin. Otherwise, in both construction and operation,the clip of this view is identical with that previously shown anddescribed.

In the modified clip shown in FIG. 7, upstanding ears of lower clipmember 74 have apertures 7S (one each) therein, much as ears 34 of therst embodiment have apertures 36 therein. Depending ear-like flanges 73of upper member 72 of the clip are bent inward, perpendicular to thesides of the clip, and through the apertures in the respectiveupstanding ears. The open opposite ends of spring 55 receive termini 79of the depending flanges, which accordingly retain the spring in place.

These illustrated modifications of certain features of the clip of thisinvention are merely exemplary and not exhaustive and are not intendedto limit or extend the true scope of the invention. Other suitablemodifications of various features of this clip may be apparent topersons having ordinary skill in the art and may be made withoutaffecting the scope of the claimed invention.

I claim:

Hair clip comprising two discrete striplike members, each having anessentially straight major portion, the rst member being generallyJ-shaped, and the second member being generally ogee-shaped, the overalllength 0f the second mem-ber approximating the length of the essentiallystraight major portion of 4the first member, from the free end of theJ-hook thereof, and the essentially straight portion of the secondmember approximating in length the straight-line distance from Ithe freeend of the essentially straight portion of the iirst member to the endof the J-hook thereof, the members being juxtaposed with theirrespective essentially straight major portions aligned with one another,the J-hook of the rst member being located adjacent the remaining minorportion of the second member, a single pivot means only, the lirstmember being pivotally interconnected thereby at the end of the J-hookto the second member, and biasing means associated therewith andeffective to urge the free ends of the essentially straight majorportions of the respective members into contact with one another, themembers being pivotable opposite to the bias direction to space theirfree ends apart and position the respective essentially straight majorportions parallel to one another, the clip being open and free ofobstruction internally in that position along substantially the entirelength of the essentially straight major portion of the iirst member,from the free end past the pivot and to the J-hook thereof, beingsubstantially the entire length of the clip.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,946,561 Widerman Feb. 13, 1934 2,321,709 Solomon June 15, 19432,492,211 Curtis Dec. 27, 1949 2,898,922 Lyman Aug. 11, 1959 dum..

